Egg carton



May 26, 1925., 1,538,892

G. S. GAYLORD EGG CARTON Filed'July 19, 1925 ing cells.

Patented May 26, 1925.

GEORGE S. GAYLORD, 0F MENASHA, WISCONSIN.

EGG CARTON.

' Application filed July 19, 1923. Serial No. 652,577.

To all whom it mag concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE S. GAYLonn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Menasha, in the county of Winnebago and State of Wisconsin, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Egg Cartons, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to egg cartons of the kind that are stamped from a single blank of material to provide sides, a bottom, a top or cover, and a plurality of partitions, for divlthng the carton 1nto separate egg receiv- One of my purposes is to provide a carton of the kind mentioned that may be folded or knocked down for shipping, packing or storing, and quickly and easily unfolded or set up for use, to which end I hingedly connect the partitions to opposite sides of the carton, so that they are movable from positions in a common horizontal plane to positions in spaced vertical planes, and viceversa. In a construction of this kind it is desirable, in order to impart rigidity to the carton when it is unfolded or set up, that the partitions, when they are moved to positions in spaced vertical planes, contact at their bottoms with the bottom of the carton.

In so far as I am aware, however, the depth of all prior cartons of this type has been determined by and is equal to the spacement between the hinge connections of adjacent partitions with, the sides of the carton, in

. in material, and at the same time maintaining the set up stability thereof through the instrumentality of the engagement of the free ends of the partitions with the bottom of the carton as heretofore mentioned.

With the foregoing and other purposesin view, my inventionconsists in the novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts as will be'herein'after more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and defined in the appended claims.

In the drawings wherein like characters of reference denote corresponding parts in the different views Figure 1 is a perspective of a carton embodying the novel and essential features of my invention;

Figure 2, a plan View of an end portion of the carton showing the partitions moved to positions in a common horizontal plane; and

Figure '3, a transverse section of the carton in set up position as shown in Figure 1.

Referring to the drawings in detail, 10 and 11 designate the sides of the carton, 12 the bottom, 13 the cover, 14 a locking strip on the free longitudinal edge of the cover, 15, 15' etc., a plurality of transverse partitions, and 16 a securing strip. The parts mentioned preferably are stamped or otherwise produced from a single blank of sheet material such as stilfpaper, pasteboard or I the like and are suitably scored for folding and for setting up. When set up, the carton is substantially as shown in Figure 1, from which position it is foldable by removing the central longitudinal partition, swinging transverse partitions until they lie in a common horizontal plane as shown in Figure 9;, and then collapsing the sides along their foldable connections with the bottom depending on the size of the carton and the size of the compartments, are formed'between'the strip 16 and the side 10, the blank being cut, so that the partitions are connected at their'upper ends by triangularlyshaped tabs 17 with the upper edges of the side 10 and the securing strip. The strip 16 is secured to the inner face of and near \the top of the side 11, so that the partitions 15, 15 etc. are disposed transversely of the carton and are foldable to positions in spaced vertical planes and to positions "in a common horizontal plane along the lines 18 of the tabs 17, which former constitute the hinge connections of the partitions and permit them to be positioned either in a common horizontal plane or in parallel vertical spacement.

In stamping the carton from a suitable blank; I form all the partitions 15, except bne of the limiting partitions, with convexly curved free edges 19and by the same operation provide concavely curved edges 20 in the top of all partitions. By this method of construction it will be apparent that I am enabled to impart to the partitions a greater maximum depth than the distance between the hinge connections 18 of adjacent partitions, which in turn permits the construction of a carton of considerably greater depth than has been possible heretofore in cartons of the same general type, without sacrificing, when the carton is set up, the engagementiof the partitions with the bottom of the carton and the stabilizing effect flowing from such engagement.

After the partitions 15 are moved into vertical parallel spacement, I further sudivide the interior of the carton by applying a longitudinal partition 21 which is received in recesses 22 in the top edges of the partitions 15, which latter are at the same time received in recesses 23 formed in said partition 21, thus providing an interfitting connection between the longitudinal-partition and partitions 15. I intensify this connection by providing the walls of certain of the recesses 23 with projections 24 which engage in openings 25 formed in relatedpartitions 15. The limiting partitions 15 are reinforced against strain in an outward direction by means of'suitable tongues or tabs 26 struck up from the bottom of the cartont While I have illustrated and described the partitions 15 as having convexly and concavely curved bottom and top edges, re-

spectively for the purpose of carrylng my .0 invention mto practice, it will be obvious of said partitions being greater than the distance between the hinge connections of adjacent partitions.

2. In a carton, a series of transverse partltions hlngedly connected to opposite sides of a carton and movable from positions in a common horizontal plane to positions in spaced vertical planes, the bottoms of oer tain of said partitions being convexly curved whereby their maximum depth is greater than the distance between the hinge connections of adjacent partitions.

8. In a carton, a series of transverse partitions hingedly connected to opposite sides of a carton and movable from positions in a common horizontal plane to positions in spaced vertical planes,v the bottoms of cerar- I tain of said partitions being convexly curved whereby their maximum depth is greater than the distance between the hinge connections of adjacent partitions, the tops of certain of the partitions being concavely curved to receive the convexly curved bottoms of other partitions when the latter are swung to lie in a common horizontal plane.

In Witness whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name.

GEORGE S. GAYLORD. 

